The Occupational Safety and Health Act in California (Cal/OSHA) mandates that employers provide safe working environments for their employees. Employers have the right to be trained on the proper safety measures at work, to ask employers to remedy any unsafe conditions, and to decline to work in hazardous conditions.
If your employer does not address your concerns, you can file a lawsuit against them for endangering your safety or file a whistleblower complaint without fearing retaliation. Workplace retaliation occurs when your employer takes extreme and unreasonable measures against you for asserting your safety rights.
If you are in this predicament, you can report your employer under the Fair Employment and Housing Act or file a civil lawsuit against them. Filing and winning a lawsuit against your employer for retaliation can be an uphill task. Therefore, you will require the guidance of an attorney throughout your case. If you are pursuing a lawsuit against your employer for retaliation in California, you will benefit from our top-notch legal guidance at Sexual Harassment Attorney.
Understanding your Health and Safety Rights At the Workplace
Employees in California have a right to healthy and safe working environments according to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). This law guarantees your safety while you work and requires your employer to take the necessary measures to uphold this requirement.
If you notice that your workplace is hazardous, you can report the matter to your employer, who is legally expected to take the right corrective measures.
You have the following rights to safety at your workplace:
Proper Training on Workplace Safety
Before you start working on your job, your employer must provide you with the necessary safety information given your position. Additionally, you should be trained on the right way to protect yourself from potential hazards. Each employer may be required to provide the following:
- Material Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals.
- Labels to mark dangerous products.
- Training on safety procedures for hazards you might contact on your job.
- Notification if you have been exposed to more levels of hazards than the limit set by OSHA.
A Safe Work Place
Each employer must create an illness or injury prevention program. This guarantees no possible risks or hazards for employees at work. Furthermore, each piece of equipment must have its condition documented by your employer, and you have the right to see these documents. This can assist you in determining whether or not you wish to operate in a particular environment.
Protective Gear
Depending on your work type and the degree of risk in your workplace, your company must offer safety gear and clothes to lower your risk. This protects you from potential job hazards such as chemicals or other objects.
Asking your Employer to Correct Safety Violations
As an employee in California, you have a right to request your employer to make changes to safety and health violations that exist at the workplace. If you report unsafe conditions and your employer does not make the necessary changes to improve the situation, you can report the matter to OSHA. Additionally, if you suffer an injury from unsafe working conditions, you could sue your employer for compensation.
Making a Confidential Request for the Inspection of your Workplace
If you experience hazardous working conditions, you can report them anonymously to OSHA. This allows for a confidential investigation to determine whether there is a basis for your allegations. In this case, OSHA will make the necessary demands for your employer to remedy the situation or face legal action.
Refusing to Do Unsafe Work
Under California Labor Code 6311, you can refuse to perform work duties that you deem unsafe. Common examples of responsibilities that could increase your risk of severe injury include:
- Load scrap metal into a meeting little without the necessary protective equipment.
- Melting lead that has been used to store radioactive materials.
- Driving a faulty truck.
- Working in an environment where there is a known risk of poisoning through inhalation of lethal gasses.
Although you are protected from workplace retaliation, you must inform your supervisor or employer of the unsafe condition of your duties. If the employer does not take corrective measures, you must inform them of your intention not to perform the duties in writing.
Petitioning OSHA for a New Safety Protocol
Sometimes, you encounter a safety problem at the workplace, and there are no regulations to address it. In this case, you can petition OSHA to create a standard protocol to address the issue. OSHA will implement these protocols after investigating and evaluating your claims of an unsafe working environment. Additionally, you could be involved in making these regulations.
Steps to Take When Your Workplace is Unhealthy or Unsafe
Many factors can make your workplace unsafe for you. This could include the presence or exposure to hazardous chemicals or the requirement to use equipment where your safety is jeopardized. Since OSHA protects your rights to safety, you can assert them without the fear of retaliation.
The following are some of the steps you can take when your workplace is unhealthy or unsafe:
Notify your Employer
When you encounter an unsafe aspect of your workplace or realize that your safety is at risk, you must notify your employer. This allows them to take necessary measures to correct the unsafe conditions. Employers should have protocols on the right channels to use when reporting safety incidents.
Report to OSHA
If your employer does not take the right measures to address your complaint, you can contact the Division of Occupational Safety and Health near your area. When contacting OSHA, you must have evidence of time, places, and dates when you noticed the unsafe conditions.
If you do not want to go public with the complaint, you can anonymously request OSHA to perform an inspection at your workplace. After the inspection, OSHA may issue a citation for your employer, giving a specific time to correct the problem.
If you decide to pursue civil action against your employer, you should hire and retain a reliable attorney to guide you.
What is Retaliation?
Under California law, retaliation occurs when an employer takes extreme measures against or treats you unfavorably for asserting your right to safety at the workplace. This could result from failing to work under unsafe conditions, seeking a safer work environment, or reporting a hazardous work environment to OSHA.
Humans naturally desire to retaliate against someone who does something that does not favor them. However, employers who engage in such acts against employees who assert their right to be safe while working are unlawful. Employers should ensure that employees feel safe reporting any unfavorable conditions so they can be investigated and addressed.
Employers can prevent retaliation and protect themselves from potential lawsuits by:
- Creating appropriate policies. An employer can have written policies indicating that retaliation is prohibited. Additionally, the policy must specify what is considered retaliation and set forth the right procedures for reporting unsafe working conditions.
- Taking complaints seriously. An employer must take all complaints and concerns about safety seriously. If a complaint has a basis, it must be investigated thoroughly, and appropriate remedies must be imposed.
- Keeping a record of the complaints. Having a system to document and preserve all the complaints and how they were resolved can ensure accountability for each situation.
- An employer must constantly remind their employees that they are entitled to work in a safe condition. Additionally, they can assure you that your complaints will not be met with retaliation.
Recognizing the Signs of Workplace Retaliation
Although California law prohibits it, employers continue to retaliate against employers asserting their safety rights by failing to work under unsafe conditions or reporting unsafe work conditions. There are several ways through which your employer could retaliate against you, including:
Job Demotion
Demotion involves lowering your position at the office. For example, if you are a manager who complains about the unsafety of the workplace and your employee demotes you to a regular employee, you have the right to file a claim against them with FEHA.
Job Transfers
You may be a victim of workplace retaliation if your employer transfers you to a hardship or less favorable job location after you attempt to assert your safety rights.
Reduction of Working Hours
You will be paid for the number of hours you work for most jobs. Therefore, an employer who retaliates against you by reducing your working hours or salary may be liable for workplace retaliation. You can claim retaliation under these circumstances if you prove to the court that the action came after you reported unsafe working conditions.
Threats, Bullying, and Intimidation
If you report your employer to OSHA or an unsafe working environment, you may be a victim of intimidation and threats at the workplace. This could be evident through outright discriminatory acts or comments that offend you.
Termination
Job termination is one of the most common forms of retaliation against employees who constantly demand better working conditions or report an employer to OSHA for hazardous working environments. Losing your job will take a toll on your financial life. Fortunately, you are protected from such action and can sue your employer for terminating you under these circumstances.
Unfair Write Ups and Performance Reports
Employees will be subjected to periodic assessments in the workplace, after which the employer or supervisor will write a report on their performance on the job. These reports can be used as a basis for promotions, demotions, terminations, or pay increases. A write-up is a formal document a company sends you to inform you that you have violated its rules and protocols.
Employers understand that the termination of an employee who complains about workplace safety can result in a lawsuit. For this reason, they can issue you an unfair write-up or a poor performance report and use it as a basis for more extreme measures. FEHA also prohibits such action and can be a basis for a civil lawsuit.
Differential Treatment
Another way you can recognize that your employer is retaliating against you for complaining or taking measures on the safe conditions of your workplace is if you receive differential treatment. Some of the forms of differential treatment include:
- Receiving less desirable shifts.
- Denial of a promotion you deserve.
- Exclusion from important meetings.
- Denial of access to company resources.
- Increased workload.
If you are a victim of this treatment, you can pursue civil action by reporting your employer to OSHA and filing a lawsuit against them.
Filing a Workplace Retaliation Lawsuit
You will have the right to file a lawsuit against your employer if you have notified them about the unsafe working conditions and they retaliate against you. A retaliation lawsuit claims that the reason for adverse measures against you is that you exercise your rights to a safe working environment.
When you file the lawsuit in civil court, you must prove the following facts:
- You attempted to exercise your rights to a safe working environment. You could have done this by complaining to your employer or reporting the incident to OSHA.
- Your employer retaliated against you. Another factor you must prove to validate your claim is that your employer retaliated against you for exercising your rights.
You can prove these elements by presenting evidence such as dates, times, and instances where the retaliation occurred. Additionally, you can present witnesses to attest to your account of events. Not all adverse actions against you count as retaliation.
California is an at-will employment state. This means your employer can employ and terminate workers as they please. However, the actions of the employers should not violate the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
If your employer terminates your employment contract or takes other adverse measures against you for whistleblowing, you can file a complaint against them. However, not all instances of adverse actions will suffice as retaliation.
When you file your complaint or claim, the employer will be entitled to represent their accounts and defend themselves against the allegations. Since there are always two sides to every legal action, your employer can present evidence to show that the adverse measures they took against you were justified.
For example, your employer can present reports of consistently poor performance from you or constant violations of company protocols. Therefore, having a reliable sexual harassment attorney by your side is critical.
Compensation Benefits in a Retaliation Lawsuit
Different forms of retaliation from your employer will affect you differently. When you file a civil lawsuit, the judge will determine the amount you can recover as compensation. Common benefits you can recover in this case include:
Lost Wages
Some actions of retaliation by your employer can cause financial difficulties. For example, you will lose money if your salary is reduced or your employment contract is terminated. This could create immense financial difficulties. In a successful lawsuit, you will be compensated for the amount you lost when you could not work.
Reversal of the Retaliatory Action
In addition to recovering compensation for lost wages, the court may order a reversal of the retaliation actions against you. This means that if your employer took actions like a demotion, salary reduction, or termination of employment due to your complaints or exercising your rights, the court would order you to be returned to the position from which you were demoted or receive the promotion you were denied.
Emotional Distress
Retaliatory actions against you by an employer can cause emotional distress. Actions like demotion, intimidation at work, and preferential treatment can add to the stress you are already experiencing from your unsafe working conditions.
Although emotional stress cannot be quantified, you can be compensated for the damage with the guidance of a skilled attorney in your lawsuit.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages contribute to the largest portion of retaliation compensation benefits. Although this damage is not commonly awarded, it is meant to punish your employer for the actions and deter similar behavior in the future.
The likelihood of recovering the punitive damages depends on the severity of your employer's conduct and its impact on you. Additionally, you must prove that your employer acted with malice or fraud to recover these damages.
Find a Competent Sexual Harassment Attorney Near Me
California employment law protects employees who take legal action against unsafe or hostile work environments. Unfortunately, some employers fail to take the right measures to address the unsafe issues and instead punish the employees by retaliating against them. Retaliation from an employer could include acts of demotion, reduction of pay, denial of promotion, and termination.
If you are a victim of retaliation from an employer for reporting unsafe working conditions, you can report your employer to the Fair Employment and Housing Act. After investigating your complaint to substantiate it, FEHA will grant you the right to sue, allowing you to file a civil lawsuit against your employer.
In this case, a successful lawsuit will see you recover compensation for the lost wages and emotional suffering you could have suffered from the situation. Additionally, the court can order a reversal of the retaliatory action. At Sexual Harassment Attorney, we offer expert legal insight for our clients pursuing a workplace retaliation lawsuit in California. Call us at 800-905-1856 for much-needed assistance.
